Going Beyond Comparative Ethics: Post-Comparative Ethics in Philosophic and Religious Traditions

Dear Colleagues,

The profusion of research in comparative ethics and increasing demand for scholars to exhibit familiarity with multiple religious or philosophical traditions is reflective of the new opportunities and problems presented by an increasingly globalized world. The growing popularity of comparative ethics, however, has also highlighted its methodological limitations and deficiencies. Simplistic comparisons of similarities and differences among systems of philosophic and religious ethics, often implicitly framed according to “the West and the Rest,” can significantly impede engagement with ethical frameworks such that real-world ethical and philosophic problems are addressed. As such, the exploration and development of new methods of comparative ethics, methods that encompass a spectrum of conflicting ethical principles across traditions while eschewing chauvinistic or dogmatic adherence to a singular worldview or set of values, remains a paramount scholarly pursuit.

In the spirit of navigating possible avenues for comparative philosophic and religious ethics, we are pleased to invite contributions for this Special Issue of Religions on “Going Beyond Comparative Ethics: Post-Comparative Ethics in Philosophic and Religious Traditions.” We ask contributors to consider approaches to comparative ethics that (1) reflect a diversity of ethical perspectives, (2) go beyond simplistic comparisons, and (3) incorporate and integrate ethical perspectives from diverse ethical traditions in the service of addressing real world religious and philosophical problems, personal, political, technological, or otherwise. Insofar as this issue focuses more specifically on religious ethics as opposed to secular ethics, submissions are encouraged to explore comparisons (and integrations) between geographically, politically, or temporally distinct ethical frameworks that relate to, for example, the basis of moral authority, sources of moral/ethical values, the role of faith, modes of worship, motivation for morality, or any variety of ethical concerns oriented around religious traditions and their philosophic considerations. The objects of research in this post-comparative ethics are open to any and all philosophic and religious traditions, including indigenous, aboriginal, and African philosophies and religions in addition to those of “the West” or “the East.”

We kindly request that potential contributors please submit their essay according to Religions’ standard guidelines.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors ([email protected]; [email protected]) or to the Religions editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Prof. Dr. Robin Wang
Dr. Daniel Sarafinas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ethics
• good
• meanings
• choices
• ethical standards and principles
• contemporary moral problems